U.S. patent number 6,890,000 [Application Number 09/864,165] was granted by the patent office on 2005-05-10 for inflatable head protection system for occupants of motor vehicles.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft. Invention is credited to Markus Meister, Jens Schaper, Hans-Peter Sertl, Josef Taubenberger.
United States Patent |
6,890,000 |
Taubenberger , et
al. |
May 10, 2005 |
Inflatable head protection system for occupants of motor
vehicles
Abstract
An inflatable head protection system for occupants of a motor
vehicle is provided which has an air bag which is inflated
laterally of the head in the event of a side impact and prevents
the displacement of the head. The head protection system has a belt
guiding duct, the belt strap of a seat belt extending through this
belt guiding duct. In order to be able to follow the belt strap
movements, the head protection system is swivellably fastened by
way of a ball joint on the upper edge of a seat backrest.
Inventors: |
Taubenberger; Josef
(Bruckmuehl, DE), Schaper; Jens (Munich,
DE), Meister; Markus (Munich, DE), Sertl;
Hans-Peter (Kemnath, DE) |
Assignee: |
Bayerische Motoren Werke
Aktiengesellschaft (Munich, DE)
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Family
ID: |
7643598 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/864,165 |
Filed: |
May 25, 2001 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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May 25, 2000 [DE] |
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100 26 024 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
280/733;
280/730.2; 280/743.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R
21/18 (20130101); B60R 21/207 (20130101); B60R
21/23138 (20130101); B60R 2021/0048 (20130101); B60R
2021/23324 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60R
21/20 (20060101); B60R 21/18 (20060101); B60R
21/16 (20060101); B60R 21/00 (20060101); B60R
021/18 () |
Field of
Search: |
;280/730.2,733,743.2 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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4305291 |
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Sep 1993 |
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DE |
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4305505 |
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Sep 1993 |
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DE |
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592815 |
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Apr 1994 |
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EP |
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Primary Examiner: Dickson; Paul N.
Assistant Examiner: To; Toan C
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Crowell & Moring LLP
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 09/864,168.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A head protection system for an occupant of a motor vehicle,
comprising: an inflatable air bag which, in an inflated condition,
extends laterally over an occupant's shoulder between the
occupant's head and adjacent vehicle body parts; a seat belt, which
in use extends over the occupant's chest area; a belt guiding duct
of the air bag, wherein a belt strap of the seat belt extends
through the belt guiding duct; and a joint about which the air bag
is swivelled so as to be vertically adjustable, said air bag being
fastened to an upper edge area of the seat backrest via the joint
while being rotatable in itself.
2. The head protection system according to claim 1, wherein said
joint is a ball joint including a ball case fastened on the seat
backrest and a spherical joint part rotatably held in the ball case
and connected with the head protection system.
3. The head protection system according to claim 2, further
comprising a gas generator arranged in the seat backrest, said gas
generator inflating the air bag via the ball joint.
4. An inflatable head protection system for an occupant of a motor
vehicle, comprising: an air bag system which, in an inflated
condition, extends laterally over an occupant's shoulder between
the occupant's head and adjacent vehicle body parts; a belt guiding
duct formed on the air bag system; and a swivellable joint operably
coupled with the air bag system to variably adjust the height of
the air bag system in accordance with a size of the occupant,
wherein said joint is a ball joint having a ball case fastenable on
a seat backrest and a spherical joint part rotatably held in the
ball case and coupled with the air bag system.
Description
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This application claims the priority of German Application No. 100
26 024.1, filed May 25, 2000, the disclosure of which is expressly
incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to an inflatable head protection system for
occupants of motor vehicles.
A head protection system of this type is known from European Patent
Document EP 0 592 815 B1. An air bag is arranged in the upper
section of a seat belt designed as a diagonal belt and is fastened
by one end to the B-column of the vehicle body. The gas generator
for filling the air bag is also situated in this area. Because of
this arrangement, the known construction is not suitable for open
vehicles, such as convertibles.
It is an object of the invention to provide a head protection
system of the above-mentioned type also for open vehicles.
According to the invention, the object is achieved by providing an
inflatable head protection system for occupants of motor vehicles
having an air bag which, in the inflated condition, extends
laterally over the shoulder between the vehicle occupant's head and
the adjacent vehicle body parts. A seat belt, which extends over
the vehicle occupant's chest area and to which the head protection
system is assigned in the area of the upper edge of a seat backrest
of a vehicle seat is also provided. The belt strap of the seat belt
extends through a belt guiding duct of the head protection system.
The head protection system can be swivelled in its height by way of
a joint and is fastened in the area of the upper edge of the seat
backrest while being rotatable in itself. Further developments of
the invention are described herein.
According to the invention, the head protection system is therefore
arranged and held at the upper edge of the seat backrest. As a
result, it is particularly suitable for open vehicles, such as
convertibles. These vehicle types have no vehicle body sections in
the form of B-columns or C-columns. Furthermore, the head
protection system provides a belt guiding duct through which the
belt strap extends. As a result and together with the hinged
arrangement on the backrest, the head protection system follows all
movements of the belt strap, such as belt fastening and unfastening
operations, adaptation to the various sizes of the occupants, seat
and backrest adjusting movements and occupant movements.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the gas generator for
inflating the air bag is situated in the backrest of the vehicle
seat. The feeding of gas expediently takes place through the joint
by means of which the head protection system is swivellably mounted
on the backrest. A particularly compact construction is obtained in
that the gas feeding device between the joint and the air bag
simultaneously carries the head protection system.
The head protection system according to the invention is
particularly suitable for vehicle seats with an integrated belt
system, in which all belt anchoring points are situated in or on
the seat. A load-bearing belt guiding device on the seat backrest
and in the vicinity of the head protection system excludes the
forces resulting from the belt, so that they are not transmitted to
the belt guiding duct and thus to the entire head protection
system.
As mentioned above, the invention provides protection for the head
even in open vehicles. However, it is not limited to such vehicles.
On the contrary, it is generally suitable in the case of vehicles
for the forward as well as for the rearward seats. It also permits
the use of child seats. A solution is provided in this case at
reasonable cost which has no influence on the belt geometry and in
the case of which no loss of comfort is to be expected.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description of the invention when considered in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a vehicle occupant's upper
body with a lateral inflated air bag; and
FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic lateral view of a vehicle seat with
a non-activated head protection system according to the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The person schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 is the occupant 1 of
a motor vehicle. The shoulder area and head area are visible, along
with a belt strap 2, which extends over the chest area, of a
three-point seat belt which is not shown in detail. An inflated air
bag 3 rests on the occupant's shoulder and supports his head
against lateral displacement and against adjacent vehicle body
parts which may penetrate the occupant compartment in the event of
a side crash. FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of the air bag. For this
purpose, the section, which in FIG. 1 is indicated by means of the
circle A, is rotated by 90 degrees in FIG. 2 and is shown in an
enlarged scale.
The air bag 3 is part of a head protection system which, according
to FIG. 2, in addition to the air bag 3, consists essentially of a
belt strap guiding duct 4 and a covering 5 which envelopes the
folded-together air bag. In this case, the head protection system
is situated in the area of the upper edge of a seat backrest 14
which, on the one hand, is part of a vehicle seat, (not shown) and
on which the occupant 1 sits down according to FIG. 1. The driver
seat is preferably equipped with an integrated seat belt system,
which is not shown but is mentioned to complete the picture. In the
case of such a seat belt system, the belt strap extends from a
lower anchoring point provided in the area of the seat cushion
upward to a deflection and from there through the backrest back to
a belt retractor. FIG. 2 indicates the deflection as the belt
guiding device 6 which, in the case of a seat-integrated belt
system, must be designed to be load-bearing. A buckle latch,
through which the belt strap is looped, can be anchored in a belt
buckle on the opposite side of the seat cushion.
Coming from the vehicle occupant's chest area, the belt strap 2
extends through the belt guiding duct 4 to the belt guiding device
6. There, it is normally deflected downward but, for reasons of
clarity, it extends in a straight line toward the rear in the
present representation. The belt guiding duct 4 with the air bag
and its covering 5 are rigidly connected by way of a tubing 7 with
a spherical joint part 9 of a ball joint which, as a whole, has the
reference number 8. The spherical joint part 9 is rotatably
disposed in a ball case 10 fixedly connected with the seat backrest
14. The tubing 7 penetrates the spherical joint part 9 and leads
into a chamber 11 of the ball case 10 which opens up behind the
spherical guiding surface. The other end of the tubing 7 is
situated within the folded-together air bag.
In a construction which is not illustrated, the belt guiding duct 4
with its additional parts--air bag and its covering--is connected
directly with the ball joint 8. In this case, the tubing 7 does not
necessarily have a bearing function and can therefore also have a
flexible design.
However, in each case, the head protection system is swivellable in
its height as a result of the ball joint and, in addition, can be
rotated in itself, so that it can easily adapt to vehicle occupants
of different heights.
A second tubing 12, which is used as a feeding tube for a gas
generator 13 provided in the seat backrest, leads into the chamber
11. The gas generator does not necessarily have to be housed there.
Depending on the design of the vehicle or of the seat, it may be
provided in the vehicle body or in the headrest. With respect to
the swivelling range of the spherical joint part 9, the dimensions
of the chamber 11 are selected such that, in any of its possible
positions caused be the worn belt, the outlet opening of the tubing
7 will not be blocked.
When a side impact is detected by a sensor (not shown), the gas
generator 13 will ignite. This causes the gas to flow into the
chamber 11 by way of the tubing 12 and from there through the
spherical joint part 9 by way of the tubing 7 into the air bag 3.
The air bag will be inflated and assume its shape illustrated in
FIG. 1.
The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate
the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since
modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit
and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the
art, the invention should be construed to include everything within
the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
* * * * *